The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 08, 1981, Page Page 7, Image 7
Errtept
'OBy
Tammy Kilpatrick
Staff Writer
From the opening bars to
the closing strains of music,
Workshop Theatre's
production of Lionel Bart's
"Oliver" is a delightful
experience.
Although the production
does have some flaws, the
performance of key
characters Oliver and the
Artful Dodger, played by two
Columbia teenagers, and a
fine supporting cast outweich
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Based upon the novel by
Charles Dickens, the
musical incorporates the
story of a young boy, Oliver,
brought up in hopelessly
cruel conditions in a London
workhouse. He runs away,
after being sold to an undertaker,
to join a gang of
thieves and starts a journey
accompanied by song and
dance that ends
dramatically and happily.
The performance of 13-yearold
Townsend Myers as
unver sets the mood of the
play, as the teenager plays
the role to perfection.
WITH HIS INNOCENT
face and tousled blond-hair,
Myers plays Oliver with
vulnerability as well as
toughness, and handles the
required cockney accent
with no problems while
setting the mood for the
other characters.
Just as captivating as
Myers is Oliver's thieving
Com
B - mm ~ -1 , - -: - :
Town send Myers plays th
runaway in 'Oliver.' (Photo
By Tammy Kilpatrick
Staff Writer
Oliver is quietly nervous,
pacing restlessly backstage
before the opening scene.
The Artful Dodger,
meanwhile, clowns
irrepressibly with fellow
cast members, only
becoming quiet to assume
his character's swaggering
stance before his cue to enter
the stage.
Both are played by 13year-olds
with a love of
acting, each fitting his own
personality into that of the
character he portrays.
TOWNSENC MYERS,
who stars in the lead role in
Workshop Theatre's
production of "Oliver," and
James Harley, the Artful
Dodger, have merged
certain traits of their own
personalities into their roles
to create believable
characters while enjoying
acting.
"It's (acting) just fun all
3ainmer
li-ve
companion the Artful
Dodger, played by James
Harley. Harley's performance
is nlen mrwrlol^
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perfectly on the whimsical
Dodger, capturing the heart
of the audience with his
swaggering confidence yet
underlying pathos.
Directed by Workshop
Theatre veteran Bette
Herring, the play is well cast
and the musical numbers
well choreographed,
although some actors
gestured a bit too wildly. The
set itself, simply built to
portray room scenes at
center stage, with stairs
Debra Haines Kiser
leading to a bridge for
outdoor scenes, lends itself
to quick scenery changes
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allows the play to flow
smoothly with no interruption
to the story line.
One of the main problems
in the play, however, is poor
lighting. The middle section
of the stage is well-lit, but
the outer edges often octrast
d Myers
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te lead role of the young
> by John Parnell}
around, especially the
girls," Myers said
laughingly backstage before
a sold-out rehearsal performance
for school
children. "I can feel the
character of Oliver in me.
I'd say I have felt like he
Sp*v pi
(JSC student Jimmy Moon
Apr. 19, including Sunday
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:r' is
cupied by main characters
do not receive enough
iigiiiuig iu iuuy illuminate
the characters and their
expressions.
THE OTHER MAIN
characters in Oliver are
aptly portrayed by Debra
Haines Kiser as Nancy and
Bob Waites as the villainous
Bill Sikes. Kiser's performance
was both sassy
and heart-rending as the
wise-cracking mistress of
Sikes, and brought freshness
to the role. Waites also
brought just the right fierceness
to his role as the cruel
murderer Sikes.
While the performance of
Randall Browning as Fagin,
the thipups' monfAi? 1"
v -WW liivi 1VVI 9 id
visually excellent with effective
costuming and body
^motions, Browning's difIficulty
in mastering a
cockney accent detracts
from his performance. His
vocal performances in
"Reviewing the Situation"
and "You've Got to Pick a
Picket or Two" are welldone
and brought laughs
from the audience.
One of the funniest scenes
in the play is the macabre
performance of the undertaker
and his wife who
buy Oliver from the
workhouse, played by Billy
Dubose and Margie Turner.
Their performance of
"That's Your Funeral" with
accompanying grimaces and
in 2'
does before. I've felt sad and
depressed like that." I
Harley also said he feels ?
much like the Artful Dodger,
while admitting he wouldn't
feel comfortable playing the ;
more angelic role of Oliver. <
"I didn't want to be Oliver i
because I just didn't think I
could do that right. I thought
the Artful Dodger would be 1
easier for me," he said. "I'm i
not as outspoken as he (the ]
Dodger) is though. I don't ]
think I'm that cocky and I
everything. I'm more laid i
honlr "
HARLEY IS MOKE I
relaxed before a per- i
formance, loving the tension i
of appearing before a crowd.
"I'm always a little bit c
nervous, but not much
though because I've always t
liked being out in front of Y
people. I love applause," he r
said. s
Myers, however, admits to v
becoming tense and worried \
before performing. "I'm "
used to the crowd now, but I
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uu gui a iiuit1 nt'i vous uetore
I go out." A
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peers at himself backstage I
matinees. (Photo by John Pa
deli
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Lionel Bart's 'Oliver' is pr
Theatre, fPhoto b y John Pa
gestures, brought laughs
from the audience while
lightening the mood of the
play.
The play on a whole is
well-done, especially the
scenes where the 16 young thieves
join Fagen, the
Olivt
Once before an audience,
tx)th respond as they create
characterizations for the
watching people. _
"The auHipnrp inct uranc 1
JW.WX
/ou on. When they start
flapping, you just get
sjoing," Myers said.
THE MOKE RESERVED
Myers, in his second lead
*ole in five play appearances,
auditioned just
or a part in the production,
xit was pleasantly surprised
jpon capturing the lead. "I
vas surprised, but I wasn't
lervous. I was just real
lappy," he said. "The only
hing I really worry about is
ny singing." I
The more outgoing Harley, |
in the other hand, knew 1
txactly which role he wanted J
o play when auditioning for -j
lis second role. He said the
ole of the Artful Dodger is A
imilar to that of Huck Finn, n
/hich he played in
Workshop's production of tl
Tom Sawyer" last fall. p
"I love these kind of F
arts," he said. "But I'm C
lore like Huck than the Si
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JIS Hftj' nf-" |llj|l|g
wfore a performance. The p
rneU)
ght
Artful Dodger and Nancy in
song and dance routines. The
supporting cast of over 50
complimented the main
performers well, especially
in songs such as "Oom-PahPah,"
where Nancy entertains
the crowd at a local
er'si
James H
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/ %
}ames Harley plays the Ar
eat re's production of 'OH
rtful Dodger because I'm (
lore laid back." ]
Both became interested in !
le theatre through a <
rogram at Hand and <
airwald Middle schools in :
olumbia called ART AG. 1
landing for artistically I
llti
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B3
^n?3HHM c
lay will run today until t
f
ful!
r
HMF
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lance by the Workshop
ntih
1/UM .
THE FLAY WILL run
from today to April 19 with
performances on Tuesdays
through Saturdays at 8 p.m.
and matinees on Sundays.
tars
[arley
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ook forward to trying out for
he next Workshop Theatre
roduction, "Cheaper by the
)o?en."
ttul Dodger in Works ho
ver.' (Photo by Parnell)
talented and gifted, tl
program selects about l
students each year to tal
art, drama and ball
classes as part of t!
students' curricului
Director Bette Herrii
leaches drama to the bo\
Ylyers is now in his tlv
/ear of studying dram
.vhile Harley is studyi.
irama and art for the fii
ime.
SOME DRAWBACKS ai
nvolved in acting, though
ncluding long hours spei
)racticing and physics
.nauges inaue 10 De more n
character while performing,
ioth boys had their hair
lyed, and Harley's hair was
:ut in a dutch boy to fit the
mage of the Dodger more
iccurately.
Neither teenager has
nade plans for a future
areer in acting, but both